Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Comb Natural Hair Often

Many women often ask me how I manage to comb my hair, because their own hair is VERY tough and nearly impossible to comb. In fact, I recently had a concerned “covert” natural haired woman advice that I use a particular product to stretch my hair so it would be less kinky, easier to comb and not too painful.

While the advice was uncalled for and unwanted, i replied by telling her that I don’t comb my hair often and I also wash my hair often, so stretching my hair wouldn’t make sense.

Flat Twists on stretched hair, only a tail comb is needed for parting

Since our hair isn’t straight, it doesn’t need to be combed every day in order to main its aesthetics. Curly and coily hair is happy being coiled up and so it has the tendency to coil back up and sometimes intertwine with each other right after combing.

Here are reasons why Afro hair shouldn’t be combed often

1. Regular hair-combing will result in mechanical damage which is an impediment to healthy long hair. Because our hair has the tendency to coil up with each other, combing the hair will forcefully separate and break up coiled hair pieces. This forceful separation will lead to hair breakage and split ends. So while you may think you’re taking good care of your hair by combing it, you’re actually doing the opposite by killing it.

Braid out on blown out hair, no comb needed

2. Since every curly hair has the tendency to curl back up, combing it would be a waste of time. Unless you intend to wear your hair in a particular style which requires your hair to be perfectly combed out, combing it would be unnecessary.

Twist out = no comb needed

3. Combing Afro hair can be painful, particularly if combed dry, which most people tend to do! Even if the hair is combed the proper way, which is hair wet and saturated with a slippery conditioner and oil, and then combed from the tips to the roots; combing our hair can still be uncomfortable. I have a sensitive scalp, so any tugging and pulling can be very painful at times.

No comb needed to twist your hair

4. Combing Afro hair takes time! As you may know by now, your hair can’t be combed the same way you would comb a weave or any other straight hair. In my previous post on Natural hair combing, I listed 5 steps that must be followed to effectively comb Afro hair, so make sure you read it. Unless your hair absolutely must be combed for a particular style, you can skip this step and move on to styling.

I used a comb when I had to straighten my hair

5. Afro hair likes to be KINKY. Temporarily disrupting the coil pattern in our hair will result in unhappy and tensed tresses.Remember, our hair is unique and must be treated as such. The exotic texture of our hair requires foreign and sometimes uncommon hair practices which might not make sense!

Twist out/wash and go doesn’t call for combed hair

How often should you comb your hair? I’ll recommend just once a month! I’ve gone months without even TOUCHING a comb.

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9 thoughts on “Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Comb Natural Hair Often”

I don’t comb my hair. When I co-wash I use my hands to detangle my hair and then maybe a wide tooth comb to remove shed hairs. For me I detangle my hair to remove shed hairs, I never “comb” to style my hair.

wow! welcome back Jen. I had to make another post on combing because many women still thinks their hair has to be combed daily like it’s straight or in a TWA. Many even tell me they can’t keep their natural hair because it’s so difficult to comb and those with natural hair keep their hair under wigs and weaves because they can’t deal with combing their hair. I always respond the same way each time which is,”you don’t need to comb your hair!” But it sounds foreign to them and doesn’t make sense. oh well

Hey girl! Your hair is still at a TWA stage, so you can probably get away with combing it with an Afro comb often. However, as it grows longer, you’ll need to give that comb a break more often. You can rock a wash n go, twists, and other cute hairstyle so your hair is presentable.